Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
1-2
Louisville
4-0
Women's Basketball Suffers Loss at No. 12 Louisville
November 23, 2014 | Women's Basketball
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Sophomore guard Jill Morrison led the Ball State women's basketball team in scoring with a 20-point showing in the Cardinals' 69-56 loss at Louisville, the 12th ranked team in the nation, Sunday afternoon at the KFC Yum! Center.
Louisville started the game off with a 5-0 run to take the early lead and would continue to control the first half despite multiple efforts from Ball State. The Cardinals kept the game close the entire first half, including two ties -- one at the 17:11 mark (5-5) after back-to-back baskets from Shelbie Justice and Renee Bennett and again 9-9 with 15:11 remaining in the half.
After that, Louisville went on an 8-0 run to take a 17-9 lead over Ball State. With 6:56 on the clock, Morrison nailed a three-point basket to make it a five-point ball game (26-21) but Louisville would close out the half with a 12-6 run to take a 38-27 halftime advantage over the Cardinals.
Ball State orchestrated an 11-2 run in the opening minutes of the second half to cut its halftime deficit to two (40-38) after baskets from Justice, Nathalie Fontaine and Morrison. But that was as close as the Cardinals would get as Louisville would go back up by 10 (54-44) with 10:16 to play and would stay in control the remainder of the contest.
Ball State held Louisville to a 38.8 shooting percentage for the contest, while the Cardinals shot 56.3 percent from the field. The Cardinals fought hard but Louisville capitalized on the day by scoring 30 points off of Ball State's 34 turnovers.
The Cardinals fall to 1-2 on the season, while Louisville improved to 4-0.
Morrison led Ball State with 20 points, which included three baskets from behind the arc. Fontaine managed 11 points and a team high nine rebounds.
The Ball State women's basketball team will host the 2014 Ball State Federal Credit Union Thanksgiving Classic Saturday and Sunday in Worthen Arena. The first game begins at noon when Jackson State faces Duquesne. The Cardinals are slated to play Murray State at 2:30 p.m.
Sunday's consolation game will also be at noon and tipoff for the championship game will be 2:30 p.m.
To purchase tickets for the game, log on to www.ballstatesports.com or call 1.888.BSU.TICKET.
